Chancellor Elementary Teacher is Region 3 Teacher of the Year
Amy Reardon is an English language teacher at the Spotsylvania elementary school.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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Amy Reardon thought she had been called to the library on Wednesday morning to attend a listening session with Jenna Conway, Virginia’s state superintendent of public instruction, on what’s working and not working on English language instruction.
But when Conway started telling the assembled English language students that “you all have a super special awesome teacher here in this elementary school,” Reardon knew something else was going on.
“Because of all of her wonderful work, this teacher was named Spotsylvania’s Teacher of the Year, and today, I am letting everybody know that Amy Reardon is actually the 2027 Region 3 Teacher of the Year!” Conway announced.
That’s when Reardon’s daughter Caroline—who’d been hiding in the library closet along with Reardon’s husband Michael, son Carter, mom Carolyn Carmichael, and dad Fewell Carmichael—came out with a bunch of balloons.
Reardon has taught in Spotsylvania schools for two decades, including 13 years as a first grade teacher at Battlefield Elementary and five years as an English language teacher at Chancellor Elementary.
Her children attended Chancellor Elementary, as did Reardon herself, her mother, and her grandfather, so when she was ready to go back to work after staying at home with her kids, “I was just waiting for a phone call from Mr. [ChES principal Shawn] Hudson.”
As Conway explained, Reardon earned an endorsement in English language (EL) instruction because she “wanted to take on a new challenge and help more students.”
As an EL instructor, she not only works with students in grades K-5, but “she’s also a teacher who helps other teachers get better,” Conway said.
“She goes into classes during those language art blocks and she shares best practices—how to help kids get better at speaking English and listening to and learning English… As a result of this, everybody in the school has been learning more,” she said.
Clint Mitchell, superintendent of Spotsylvania County schools, spoke about his experience as an EL student when he first arrived in the U.S. as an immigrant from St. Lucia.
“It was my EL teacher who had the most profound impact on me as as student,” Mitchell said. “To see the work you’re dong at Chancellor and across the division is amazing and well deserved.”
School Board members Carol Medawar, Belen Rodas, and Chair Megan Jackson also attended Wednesday’s presentation. Jackson said Reardon “represents the very heart of public education” and “the values we strive to uphold as a school division.”
“Every day, Mrs. Reardon transports her classroom into a place where language becomes a bridge, not a barrier,” Jackson said. “Her work is about opening doors to opportunity. She cultivates a classroom where every student feels seen, valued and capable of achieving great things. Her dedication reminds us that teaching is not only about lessons and assessments, but about possibility.”
The Virginia Department of Education’s Region 3 is comprised of school divisions in 17 localities, including those in the Northern Neck as well as Spotsylvania, Stafford, Fredericksburg, Caroline, and King George.
As the Region 3 Teacher of the Year, Reardon will be invited to Richmond to talk with Gov. Abigail Spanberger and other regional teachers about public education in the state, and she will go on to be considered for the statewide Teacher of the Year honor.
Reardon told the Advance that what keeps her in the profession is “the relationships with the kids.”
She said that when she transitioned from being a classroom teacher to an EL teacher, she worried that she would miss the familiar relationship that develops from spending an entire year with one group of children.
But as an EL teacher, “now I get them from kindergarten all the way through fifth grade,” she said. That means more time to develop relationships with the kids and their families, and to help them grow from English learner to proficiency.
“And really, the whole point of doing this is to see that growth,” Reardon said.
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